In case OP still lurking, don't play oddities on first playthrough. It requires some serious meta knowledge to know where to get them. And without that knowledge, you'll underleveled on most place. Especially so on Depot A, where it seems like you need a lot of things at once
Well if the question of the op was "how to make the game easier" that would be good advice, but i enjoyed so much the oddity system on my first(s) playthrough (even though i missed a lot of oddities) that i can't agree with this as a general advice
I'd tried clearing the burrower caves and lunatic camps before and couldn't make a dent in any of them. I think I also locked myself out of Abram's quests. But, with a lot of luck and patience and thanks to the advice you folks gave me (thank you all so much), I managed to get the drill circuit board (and get to level 10) from Depot A earlier tonight. The trick with the doors and molotovs was especially helpful, along with the siphoner armour and a shield emitter I managed to pick up during the Scrapper raid (I am really curious about where to find a crafting recipe for those, I'm assuming nobody in this beginning area sells anything more than component parts for shields).
It was a hell of a challenge and I certainly left several stones in the area unturned (not going back to that hell again until I'm a bit higher level with better gear). But I'm relieved I won't have to restart and redo my character completely again (for now; hopefully not jinxing myself there lol). I've heard the game opens up a lot more from this point on, but is it true that the game's a bit more smooth sailing (comparatively) after Depot A, or does it only get harder from here? No spoilers please, just wondering if my character still stands a chance even though it passed the Depot A test (I'm thinking I might need to spend a level just dumping points into stealth since I definitely have more fun with the game when I'm not always immediately spotted and ganked by all the enemies on the map, is that possible to do without crippling my character at this point?)
Well done ! Honestly do whatever you want and just think about how you enjoy the game the most. Mistakes are kinda forced to happen on your first(s) playthrough, there is so much to learn that even if you restart now you'll probably still make some errors... The good thing is that the more you play the more you learn and get better. Especially about the crafting system which is really going to kick in after depot A if you invest some points in it.
About skills : They are all useful and depend on your build so it's hard to give general advice.
However one rule of the thumb is that you HAVE to max your main offensive skill (gun or melee, or PSI school(s) ), no question about that.
Other points you have to think depending on your needs.
About crafting :- Electronics is the crafting skill i'd recommand for almost any build, so you can craft a good shield and googles (among other things you'll discover).
- Mechanic is also very good to invest in for most builds, for crafing good weapons (or metal armor). Even though there are some cool premade weapons, they are usually inferior to crafting or hard to find.
- Tailoring : very good, mainly for armors and boots, but not mandatory because there are really good premade armors you can find/that will be given to you.
- Chemistry and biology aren't as necessary, especially for a beginner "standard" build. CHemistry mainly serve for grenades and chemical weapons. 20 effective skill in chemistry is enough for gas grenades, which will serve you well for some tough fights. You can buy most things biology will offer you so i suggest you skip this one if your are starved in skill points.
If you get really frustrated with this character you can restart, but if things are going well i suggest you just continue to play to learn some more, and maybe restart later on or just finish the game with your character if your doing fine
Feel free to ask any advice on build quest etc...
